Break-in Question

With that mileage, none really. Just keep from reving the crap out of it (really high speeds/passing like a bullet) and enjoy the ride.

 

You don't have to worry about varying speeds with the HSD as the RPM of the engine does vary on its' own with the slight varying of the terrain. It's not fixed to your speed as in obsolete vehicle designs.
The main reason for the break-in "rules" is to avoid overheating the rings. They can overheat in small sections if they have to "machine" any metal. With the fine factory finishing we see these days this has pretty much gone away. The "rules" are still there, mostly due to tradition.
The braking part is to avoid overheating the small part of the disks that is touching at first. As they are used the pads wear so that the touching part is spread over the entire surface, so you will have a harder time overheating any part.

The higher your speed the more power the engine must produce. The more power the higher the temperatures generated. Hence the 50 MPH "limit". You already have enough miles on the car to raise that max. speed to over 60 MPH and because the machining is no longer a problem due to the finer factory finishing it's really not a problem.

I took a brand new Toyota (1990 model) on a 2500 km trip on the highway and it caused no problems. I traded it in after 12 years of use with 150,000 km on it, still not burning any oil and working just fine. I also took Pearl on a highway trip when she was new and it caused no problems. Even hit 5000 RPM a couple of times.

 

I am on the verge of buying a new Prius and have a question about the 50 mph guideline mentioned above. In the pdf of the owners manual I downloaded from this site (lost the link), it simply says "Do not drive at excessive speeds" for the first 600 miles. Is over 50 mph really considered "excessive", or am I missing some other guideline?

The other thing I'll add is that this site has been a terrific resource for me as I've narrowed down my purchasing decision. I'm looking forward to being a member of the community.

 

"Excessive speeds" means over 70 MPH. Remember, the car is made in Japan, where it's considered by many anti-social and criminal to exceed the posted limit. I hope even we in Alberta will eventually come around to that view, but I'm not holding my breath!